Playing With Fire
by Steven Dalton
Summary: Patrick Jane has his hands full as the CBI team is locked down with an internal affair investigation led by newcomer Matthew Waves, forcing the consultant to take on the death of a firefighter with an old enemy. As Waves delves into the heart of Lisbon's team, his attention will turn toward Jane himself and the whole team will discover how far loyalties can be stretched.
1. Prologue

Stepping out of the elevator carrying two cups of tea; Patrick Jane pleasantly hummed to himself as he entered CBI headquarters and Van Pelt looked up at him and stated, "You seem rather upbeat."

"What can I say? It's quite relaxing to be freed of being charged with murder," Jane said with a smile and looked about asking, "Where's Lisbon?" "Interrogation room," Grace answered.

"We had a new case and I wasn't informed?" he asked in surprise to which the junior agent explained, "You were given two week reprieve from everything remember? I say take advantage of it, you need a vacation." "Right," the consultant said with a nod as he looked toward the hallway where Lisbon likely would be and stated, "Or... I could do this."

Walking to the chamber where the senior CBI agent was at, Patrick stuck his head in the door even as Teresa was getting ready to ask their suspect another question. "Umm... Excuse me, sorry to interrupt," Jane said as he stepped inside and Lisbon muttered, "Is there something you wanted to help with?"

"Yes I hate to be rude but could all of you please return to the scene of the crime and await further instructions there. I'm afraid Agent Lisbon got ahead of herself and I'm much more in my element if I see what was taking place as it happened," Jane explained to which the man asked, "Is this some kind of joke?"

"He doesn't get to make that call," Lisbon assured him before adding, "You know I'm beginning to think I should extend your vacation for a whole month. It might give me a chance to actually think." "Oh now you're just saying things to hurt my feelings," Jane replied. "Can I speak to you outside?" Lisbon muttered causing the consultant to nod and gesture to their suspect before replying, "Just a little middle management problem. Don't worry, we'll get this all settled shortly."

Stepping out to the hallway, Teresa remarked, "I thought I told you to lay low until we heard back from Bertram about the internal affairs review." "Yeah... I know you said that, but I got bored," he replied defensively. "Oh well since you got bored its ok then," Lisbon said throwing her arms up to which Jane smiled and said, "That's the spirit. Besides when the IA guy gets here he'll be conducting a full investigation to weed out Visualize's mole. What is there to worry about?"

Before the senior CBI agent could answer, a voice from behind her asked, "Agent Lisbon?" Turning about she nodded toward the middle aged curly brown haired man and smiled before stating, "You must be Agent Waves. I'm Teresa Lisbon, this is Patrick Jane." "I know who both of you are, believe me word on Capitol Hill spreads around," Waves said nodding to both of them and then stating, "I couldn't help but to notice that your team has already started a new case?"

"Yeah nothing major, a firefighter was found dead in a house fire a few counties away. It's pretty much an open and shut case," Lisbon replied to which Jane remarked, "So you say." "Unfortunately I'm afraid you're going to have to let your suspect go, Agent Lisbon," Matthew stated to which Patrick readily stated, "I'll tell you one thing I'm starting to like you already."

"In fact I'm afraid you can't be placed in any open cases right now until my investigation is closed," Waves answered to which Lisbon remarked, "You can't do that." "Oh really? Because Director Bertram told me that you already were allowing me to have full access to your team. Are you suddenly changing your mind now?" the internal affairs officer asked to which Teresa was about to object when Matthew answered, "I thought not. Good. Do you have any coffee around here?"

As the agent walked away, Lisbon turned to her consultant and stated, "I can't decide whether or not to choke you or hit you. Either way, you don't need to look at me the rest of the day." As she walked off, Jane smirked softly and sipped his tea before saying to himself, "What a beautiful day."


	2. Part 1

Heading into her office alongside the IA agent that had just rudely showed up Lisbon said, "We can't just freeze all investigations because you want us to!"

"You specifically told Director Bertram you would cooperate with this because your team was in danger," Matthew countered as she closed the door behind them. "I understand you have a job to do, but so do we! The CBI can't just shut down for a week."

"It might take longer than that, from my count you have about fifty-seven people in this office. Any one of them could be associated with Visualize. Now if we're going to figure out who that person is, we have to do things my way. Discreetly and patiently," Waves answered.

"And how precisely is the mole going to be unaware of the fact that we're searching for him when the department is on lock down?" Lisbon wondered to which the IA agent readily answered, "Continue with your investigation but under the premise that no conviction can be made until my own search is finished. I understand that your boy Jane is good at closing cases, get him to close the one you're working on but also keep in mind that any conviction you make could be held in question considering what you've already told me."

"My immediate team can be trusted," Teresa stated to which Matthew shook his head and stated, "That is what I find is the most common problem in these investigations.

Everybody is biased. Now two weeks ago your consultant was considered a primary suspect, did you trust him then?"

"Yes," Lisbon answered to which the other stated, "Then you made a mistake. And it looks like finding a Visualize mole is going to be the least of my problems since it appears you aren't managing your shop well, Agent Lisbon."

"What do you need us to do to prove that we're cooperating?" she said with a sigh to which Waves answered, "I'll need all the files on every member of the CBI, starting with your team."


	3. Part 2

"

Cho glanced up as the dark haired man stepped out of Lisbon's office and then raised a curious eyebrow at his boss and asked, "What was that all about?"

"A headache that's what," she answered crossing her arms and adding, "All right everyone listen up, this latest case is going to be transferred while we undergo a performance evaluation." Turning to the man standing next to her she added, "This is Matthew Waves, he'll be interviewing each of you in due time, all I ask is that you completely cooperate with him and this will just be over faster than you know it." The man smiled at all of them and then declared, "I appreciate the fanfare, Agent Lisbon but it's not necessary. I don't suppose one of you could take me to the personnel files?" Grace stood up from her desk and said, "Sure just follow me."

As Waves left the bullpen, Cho looked at their superior again and asked, "When are you planning on telling us what it's really about?" Teresa held up a finger and watched as Van Pelt led the man out of hearing and then muttered, "Rigsby, Cho, in my office in five minutes." Kimball glanced at his friend who shrugged and said, "Let's just go now and see what it's all about." The Korean agent nodded and steppe into Lisbon's office first followed by Wayne causing their boss to say, "Shut the door."

"You're acting like you are walking on pins and needles," Rigsby said with a slight smirk until he saw her serious expression. "I'm sure you both know how bad it looked for CBI when we convicted Jane of a crime he didn't commit," she began to which Cho commented, "Do you mean us or Bertram?" "I'd imagine he is pretty steamed," Wayne agreed to which she countered, "There was a lot of evidence to support Jane's guilt. But in the end we discovered a witness being aided by a federal Marshall and a connection to Red John we never knew about before. But what we don't know is who Visualize had spying on us or why."

"And of the list you just mentioned how much does Director Bertram know?" Rigsby asked. "Everything except for the connection to Red John and we will keep it that way," she emphasized glancing outside to where Jane was resting on his couch and added, "I'm giving Jane a little time to try and figure out more about Zoey before we go to Bertram with this lead." Cho looked out thru the blinds at their consultant and said dryly, "Looks like he is getting right on it."

"The point is Agent Waves has tied my hands about our current investigation, those firefighters get to walk. Until he determines who the mole is none of us can do our job," Lisbon explained with a sigh as she closed her eyes and muttered, "So I guess I'm telling you to do whatever you can to help Jane out." Just then there was a tap at the glass and they all glanced out to see their consultant standing there.

He popped his head in the door and commented, "Lisbon, those men from earlier are they just going back to their jobs?" "That's what you wanted anyway," Teresa quipped to which he admitted, "Well no not really. I had a lead I wanted to run but I suppose it'll have to wait." "In case you didn't notice the department has been shut down because of what happened a few weeks ago," Lisbon countered to which Jane replied, "I can't help that Gale has a vendetta against me."

"The point is that case is out of our hands and we have to adhere to Agent Waves' whims," she replied to which he smiled and answered, "Well maybe you do, but I don't. Last time I checked I'm not a member of CBI." "Hold on a second! Aren't you more interested in finding out about Zoey Salvador?" Wayne asked in surprise.

"Oh I'm sure that'll resolve itself in time," Jane said waving his hand dismissively and then looking at all of them and adding, "I can tell that by your solemn expressions none of you can do much so what's to stop me?" Lisbon sighed and said, "All right I don't suppose it could hurt. The Bay Firehouse number 5 is where the victim was stationed. I'll call up another unit and see if they can lend you some assistance." "Scared I might be in danger?" Jane asked with a broad smile to which she answered, "I was more worried about the firefighters." "Ha ha Lisbon," he said leaving them behind to which Cho commented, "Are you sure letting him go alone is a good idea?" "No," she answered picking up the phone and quickly making a call.


	4. Part 3

The Bay Firehouse number five looked dull and old from the exterior, a few broken windows and tattered shingles here and there, but it was clear that those who made the place their home on and off were trying to fix it up as he entered one of the open garage doors.

A ladder sat next to one of the fire trucks along with a few oblong light bulbs and other equipment meant for placing ceiling fixtures up above about thirty feet. According to the report that Lisbon had given him, the victim, a fire fighter named Joel Lamb; had been in this very spot using the ladder when all of his fellow workers were inside tending to some type of union conference after a house fire that had taken place about six blocks away.

But the wounds on Lamb's head and the blood that was still fresh on the side of the fire truck immediately told him that no mere fall could've caused that much damage to the fire fighter's skull. Plus since he also knew that the crime scene had remained untouched since early this morning, Jane also quickly noted that the ladder was still standing upright.

In fact it was most likely that the victim had never been on it to begin with. Passing by the scene, the blonde haired consultant walked over to one of the break rooms where a soft murmur of noise was coming from and slowly peeked inside. Eight men and two women stood quietly bowing their heads as an older black gentleman said a prayer obviously for their departed friend and then as it was finished Patrick knocked on the edge of the door, alerting all of them to his presence.

"Hello everyone," he said giving them a curt nod to which a man he recognized from being at CBI HQ asked, "What do you want?" "Sorry to interrupt, I was just following up on the investigation if its all the same to you," Jane stated to which the older black man, clearly the fire Chief said, "I thought it was determined that Lamb's death was an accident?"

"I'm sure that's what they told you sir, but I can tell you that is nowhere near the truth," the consultant said to which the shorter woman, a brunette with a ponytail and freckles asked, "What makes you think that?"

"What's your name?" he replied to which she answered, "Stacy Adams, I was the driver on Lamb's truck." "Well that makes me want to question you first then Stacy, for example why was the fire truck moved after the murder?" Patrick asked.

"What?" she muttered causing the former psychic to reply, "You heard me. There are a few slight marks on the ground underneath, loose screws from what Lamb was doing to the lights. Obviously the truck was moved otherwise those screws wouldn't be where they are." "I'm sorry, but who are you?" another fire fighter asked.

"Patrick Jane, CBI, and you must be Sergeant Harold Erwin, am I right?" he replied to which the bald headed man stated, "Yeah... But how did you know that?"

Glancing at the Chief Jane remarked, "I can't help but to notice some hostility here. Is there any reason any of you don't want to help with this case?" "Mister Jane, my unit is tired and stressed from this morning's events. We also got a call from your CBI stating that the investigation was closed, so naturally you can understand why we might be upset when you come in here and starting accusing people of murder," the chief stated.

"Just doing my job," Jane admitted as he placed his hands in his pockets and stated, "That's my fault, why don't we start over by you telling me your names?" The fire chief crossed his arms as stated, "Chief Steve McFrat, this is Charles Logan, Wesley Summers, Samantha Trey, Derek Valin, Evan Michael, Keith Blanko, Cortez Sanchez and his brother Hugo, and you already know Stacy and Harold it would seem."

"A pleasure," Patrick said nodding to each of them before clasping his hands together and proclaiming, "I know this is probably a hard time for all of you, but the quicker we get thru with this then the faster everyone can get back to work."

"What is it exactly you are wanting to do?" Keith asked. "Excellent question, first I want to establish who was here at the time that Lamb died? Our coroner report places time of death at seven to seven thirty this morning, who was on duty then?" Jane asked to which Wesley answered, "We all were, Chief McFrat had a meeting in the north conference room."

"Hmm, so no one was unaccounted for?" the consultant asked to which Frey, the black haired taller woman answered, "I took head count, only Joel was not present because he was assigned maintenance that morning."

"So then you're lying," the consultant answered simply to which Samantha muttered, "Excuse me!" "Either that or you're covering for someone, it's too early to tell which," he said dismissively to which Chief McFrat remarked, "If you continue with this behavior I'm going to ask you to leave."

"I was just making a statement no need to get huffy," Patrick replied to which Derek Valin stated, "If you're CBI where are your credentials anyway?" "Yeah good point," another fire fighter remarked. "Well, I'm more of a consultant really," he began to which Valin remarked, "Right, translation we don't have to answer any of his questions."

"Actually you do," a new voice said causing Jane to turn about and see the dirty brown haired man entering the room. "Or rather, you'll have to answer mine," the newcomer amended. "And who are you?" Adams asked to which the agent replied, "Ray Haffner, CBI Special Divisions."

"And you're telling me this case is now considered a murder investigation?" Chief McFrat asked.

"Patrick Jane is one of our top consultants, if he says it's murder; then it is. So I'm afraid I'll be having to ask all of you some questions. But first I need to talk with my partner alone," Haffner stated gesturing for Jane to follow him back to the garage. The former psychic did so with a mild grin and asked, "So we're partners now?" "As much as I don't like you, Bertram wants me on your tail. Apparently Lisbon called in a favor since her team is out of commission while this little affair is cared to back at HQ," Haffner explained.

"I thought you didn't work for CBI anymore," Jane pointed out to which Ray said, "Special Divisons, we take care of messes that people like your boss can't." "Wow, Gale must be steamed at me," Patrick said with a wide smile to which Haffner remarked, "You have no idea. So how about we both play along and then we can get back to our lives and away from each other?" The consultant smiled and gestured for him to lead the way to which Ray growled, "This better get me some extra pay."


	5. Part 4

Stepping into the tiny room, Rigsby felt a bit awkward being on this side of the table as the IA agent entered and closed the door commenting, "You can relax, Wayne. This isn't an interrogation." He looked back at the dark haired man and chuckled softly before answering, "Yeah... I've heard that spill."

"I'm serious, I've already reviewed your file. I know about your sorted past and it has no bearing on this investigation," Waves stated causing him to relax for a moment.

"Then why are you wasting time talking to me? Or the rest of our team? You know that the mole for Visualize isn't one of us," Rigsby muttered to which the IA agent said, "I think it's interesting that Agent Lisbon decided to inform you and a few others about the real reason I'm here. How long after I left did she decide to do that?"

As he sat up in his chair, resisting the urge to flinch; Wayne said, "She didn't. But it's obvious. We knew all about it after the Salvador case. We want to help you track the mole down, but this isn't the way to do it." "Oh really? And would the right way be?" Matthew asked leaning forward and closing the file he's been reading.

"Let us get back to our cases, make it business as usual. If the mole relaxes enough, his guard will drop and we'll catch him," Rigsby said. "Is that how it worked with Agent O'Laughlin?" the other man countered.

"That was years ago, what does it have to do with anything?" Wayne asked. "Perhaps everything. After all, it seems to me that both you and the other people on Lisbon's team have a tendency to let Patrick Jane have his run of this place. Maybe that's why O'Laughlin was able to sneak in here so easily, maybe that's why Visualize has continued to have an eye on you," Matthew commented. "Look," Rigsby began sitting forward and sighing before stating, "Jane is an amazing help to us here. We close more cases with him than any other consultant. What happened with O'Laughlin was another matter entirely. It relates to something personal for him okay."

"You mean Red John," Waves said calmly sliding a picture across the table of a man bludgeoned to death near to one of the eerie red smiles that the serial killer was famous for.

"What's this?" Wayne asked. "So then Lisbon didn't tell you?" the IA agent countered causing him to mutter, "Tell me what?"

"This man was the brother of Ava Mcintire, one of the proxies that a woman called Zoey Salvador was using to stay away from authorities. Now can you explain to me why it is that California's most notorious serial killer would be interested in killing someone like that?" Waves asked.

"Seeing as Zoey got away, I guess we'll never know," Rigsby replied to which Waves said, "This information came from the FBI, Agent Rigsby. Ever since Nicole Shaw escaped your custody due to the mistakes of your consultant, they've taken an extreme interest in the case. So when Director Bertram asked me to get started figuring out what happened here in CBI with the Salvador case, that got me wondering why are the FBI on the hunt for her too. Tell me something Wayne, did you try to stop Nicole from running at all? Or did Patrick Jane use those baby blues of his to convince you otherwise?"

"This is insane, you're being ridiculous. None of this has to do with Visualize of Red John," Wayne replied causing the IA agent to stand up and say, "Maybe not yet. But give me a day or two... And then we'll see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together."

"Are we done here?" he asked irritably. "For now," the other agent confirmed allowing Rigsby to sigh in relief and leave the room. As Waves moved down a different corridor, Wayne made his way toward his superior's office and tapped softly on the glass before Lisbon let him in. "How do I get the feeling that didn't go well?" Teresa asked.

"This guy is about as bad as LaRoche," he said sitting down.

"What happened?" Lisbon asked to which Rigsby stated, "He practically accused us of aiding Jane during the Salvador case and he brought up old wounds to prove his point." "Jane does a lot of stupid things, I agree but that doesn't really fit with finding a mole for Visualize," she commented crossing her arms in confusion. "I said the same thing, but Waves seems to think our allowances for Jane have made us lazy or something,"he muttered.

"Well he is just doing his job," Lisbon stated as she watched the IA agent approaching her office and added, "But more importantly, he had a good point. During the Salvador investigation we gave Jane the benefit of the doubt too many times. And she got free because of her connection to Red John. Maybe that was a bad call." Before he could reply to his boss, Matthew entered and dryly remarked, "That didn't take long for you to go squeal to mom."

"What is it Waves?" Lisbon asked before he could defend himself.

"I wanted to ask where your department was at tracking down Lorelei Martins," he replied. "The FBI took over that case, we haven't gotten involved. Why do you ask?" Teresa answered. "Nothing. I just thought it was interesting that Patrick Jane was so intent on learning everything about her and then she escaped a federal prison and he gave up," Waves replied with a shrug and left. "Why is he focusing on Jane?" Rigsby wondered to which she replied, "I don't know, but I intend to find out."


	6. Part 5

As the cargo truck pulled into the downtown parking garage, the blonde haired consultant glanced about and said, "Is the budget pretty tight in Special Divisions?"

"We don't exactly have desk jobs," Haffner answered as he got out of the driver's seat causing Jane to glance across the car lot and see an SUV approaching from an upper level. "CI?" he asked to which Ray replied, "Stay in the truck." As his new partner walked over to the informant, the former psychic paid close attention to the gestures, facial patterns and inflections of the man Haffner was talking to. Dark sunglasses and a hoodie told him this man didn't want to be recognized, but it was the subtle cough that told him everything he needed to know. As Ray returned and the SUV drove away, Patrick asked, "Was he playing tardy this morning at the firehouse?"

"How did you... Nevermind," Haffner muttered as he started his own vehicle. As they left the garage Jane said, "All of the crew was interviewed already left. So I'm guessing that was a former Bay Firehouse pledger?" "Thomas Gabriel, volunteered for five years until he was discharged for sexual advances on Sam. But those charges were dropped," Ray replied.

"Uh huh... And I'm wagering he wanted to talk about more than the weather?" Patrick asked. "I thought you could read lips?" Haffner countered making the former psychic smirk. Before he could answer, his cell began to ring and he quickly answered it stating, "Lisbon were you beginning to get worried about me?"

"Where have you been all afternoon?" she countered to which Patrick stated, "I caught a ride with an old friend, we're tracking leads on the case. And you? From your tone it sounds like the fire-breathing dragon hasn't taken a break." "Waves has taken an interest in the disappearance of Lorelei Martins. I was hoping you might have something for me to tell him so he is convinced you didn't have something to do with her escape from a federal prison," Teresa stated.

"Why would he be looking into that?" Patrick asked deflecting the main question. "How should I know? Anyway he is about to go to your attic, so I'm guessing there isn't a reason that I should stop him?" Lisbon replied to which he replied, "Just tell him not to mess with my lava lamp." "Right, see you later," Teresa replied and the phone call ended. Putting it back in his pocket, Jane narrowed his eyes in thought causing Haffner to ask, "Is something the matter?"

"It's getting a little late, my couch is probably missing me," Jane answered to which the Special Divisions agent stated, "And what about this investigation?" "I'm sure you can handle confronting Sam about her illicit affair with the victim yourself," the consultant stated. "So you can read lips," Ray confirmed to which he smiled and said, "Of course. But I wanted to see if you would tell me the truth or not." "Is everything a test with you?" the other man muttered.

"Sometimes, except those times that it's not," Patrick answered with another big smile.


	7. Part 6

As the elevator doors opened up, Teresa gave him the nudge to come to her office; prompting the consultant to quickly finish the cup of tea he was drinking and place it down on Rigsby's desk. "Hey," the agent muttered to which he responded, "Sorry, duty calls and what not…" Once inside the tiny room, Patrick closed the door and said, "So what's up? Where is our ever persistent internal affairs agent at now?"

"Like I said, he wanted to go to your office; so I gave him permission," Teresa said to which he answered, "He is going to eventually move onto other leads, isn't he?"

"Of course, unless you've been hiding a secret love affair with Stiles that I should know about?" Lisbon countered with a smirk as she sat down and he remarked, "Ah yes well… I was hoping you wouldn't be jealous." "On a more serious note, what happened at the firehouse?" she replied. "Stinks to be holed up in here doesn't it? Maybe you know how I feel when I don't get to tag along," Jane said to which she countered, "Enough stalling, what's going on?"

"Bertram was kind enough to lend me a helping hand with an agent from Special Divisions. So we're following up a few leads. I wanted to check in here real quick before I went back to the firehouse," Jane said with a shrug to which Lisbon said, "Special Divisions huh? I guess he must think we really can't do anything right."

"Well after what happened a few weeks ago, I don't blame him for being a little steamed," the blonde haired consultant replied and then glanced up the stairs that led to his attic and remarked, "I think I'm going to go check on our snooper, see what he makes of my hideaway." "All right, but no games this guy is all business," Lisbon warned to which Jane countered, "Me try and pull a fast one? It's like you know me!"

Leaving her office, the former psychic rushed up the stairs, his mind racing with questions as to what this newcomer was searching for. The chances of him knowing anything about what occurred before this incident with Salvador are almost infinitesmal, he reasoned as he approached the wall that served as a door to his tiny attic chamber.

But still, it's better to find out what he is after now so I can stall him, and then later I can dispose of anything that was connecting to Lorelei, Jane decided as he entered the room. The dark haired man was sitting in his chair, reading one of the many files that he had on Red John as he entered, not even bothering to look up as Patrick remarked, "I think the DVD's I have are probably better."

Waves closed the document and stated, "Lisbon warned you I was up here?" "She might've implied," the consultant said with a shrug as he walked over toward his window that overlooked the CBI parking lot. "I must say that's rather interesting Mister Jane," Waves said to which he replied, "What would that be?"

"How Agent Lisbon is ready to jump at any opportunity to protect you," the IA agent said rising to his feet. "I think she's come to treat me as a comrade in arms, a fellow do-gooder if you will; but don't tell her I said that," the consultant said with a winning smile, which fell hard on the cold faced man.

"I'm sure she completely agrees with that statement," Matthew commented dryly and then added, "But the thought crossed my mind, what exactly is it that Lisbon feels she needs to protect you from?" Pointing toward the file that he was holding, Jane said, "She knows what the Red John case means to me."

"So does every other member of this team, including me. It's no secret what happened to your wife and daughter ten years ago. In fact, I'd say really what Teresa has done is given you practically every sort of leeway available in order to track down Red John," Matthew stated. Patrick shrugged and said, "If you must know, yes I suppose she has."

"I went down to the personnel files in the basement, I couldn't help but to notice you don't have one," Waves said crossing his arms to which the former psychic replied, "As it turns out, I'm still not considered an actual member of the California Bureau, so that would probably explain why."

Raising his hand, the IA agent stated coldly, "Enough cat and mouse games, Mister Jane. I know from the second you walked into this room you've been getting a read on me. So you know what I'm really implying. So why don't we skip the portion of this conversation where I force you to explain to me where these files might be located and instead you simply tell me?" The blonde man stopped for a moment and then cocked his head and said, "You've certainly got a bit of spunk, don't you?"

"Are you mocking me, Mister Jane?" the IA agent asked with a testy tone to which the consultant replied, "No nothing of the sort… I was just wondering why it was that you were suddenly so interested in me. I thought Director Bertram had assigned you to handle the matter surrounding a mole connected to the cult Visualize?"

"He also told me that he only had you and Lisbon to believe that such a mole existed, after your stunt with Zoey Salvador I'm inclined to believe you're just making up excuses as to why she got away," Matthew answered.

"Well that's just not true," he replied defensively and then gestured to all of the files in his attic and remarked, "And I really don't see what coming up here would accomplish." Waves smirked and said, "It's true, there isn't a lot of information on you, Jane. But I can see what type of game you're playing and how you're using members of this unit as pawns just so you can catch up to the man that murdered your family. You'd be willing to do anything in order to bring him to justice, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose if it was your family, you wouldn't?" Patrick countered to which the internal affairs agent remarked dryly, "There comes a time where you have to draw the line between right and wrong. And I think that got blurred for you when it came to Lorelei Martins."

"I suppose it would make sense for me to have sympathy toward her when she was holding me at gunpoint," the former psychic said to which Waves replied, "That's what the official report says. But you don't fool me, even if the rest of your little family is ready to turn a blind eye to whatever happened in Vegas and afterwards, I can't and I won't. I hold you personally responsible for what happened to Luthor Wainwright, Jane. Don't even try to deny it, had it not been for your blind rage to capture Red John he would've lived and you know it."

The blonde haired man sighed and said, "I'm not sure what you're implying."

"Yes you do, just spit it out," Waves growled to which Patrick stared at him and said, "You think I have ties with Visualize and that I had something to do with Lorelei escaping from a federal prison. You have a determination to see justice for Wainwright, probably because you were old college roommates or something of that sort, and you want to blame me for some past misdeed that caused you to lose touch with him. Now that Wainwright is dead, it's easy to pick a goat but inside you're still hurting because another more personal loss that you just can't talk about. Maybe you've even blocked it out entirely. So instead you have this vendetta against crime and injustice, and you are always seeking to bring out the truth even in situations where you know that nothing will be accomplished by doing so."

For a moment the two of them stared at each other and then Patrick's phone rang, finally breaking the silence.

"Jane?" Haffner's voice said as he answered it. "Have you hit a wall already?" the consultant countered to which the Special Divisons agent remarked, "I don't want to hear it. How fast can you get to the Bay Firehouse?"

"Probably half an hour. What's up?" Jane said glancing at Waves who continued to give him a cold stare. "I'm having trouble breaking Stacy, the driver. I want to figure out why she moved the truck after the crime took place," Ray answered to which the blonde man said, "No problem, I'll handle it. Oh, and I missed our chats too."

Hanging up before the other could say something snippy, the former psychic walked past Waves and stated, "Make sure you lock up when you're done." "Mister Jane," the IA agent said coldly as he prepared to leave causing Patrick to glance back at the dark haired man who stated, "We'll talk again later."

Smiling at him and waving, he replied, "Looking forward to it already."


	8. Part 7

The red head watched as the CBI consultant disappeared from sight into the elevator once more and then glanced across at Rigsby and asked, "Any idea what's going on?" Wayne sighed and then rolled his chair closer to hers and answered, "I'm not sure I should say, Lisbon warned that the more we talk the more likely this guy from internal affairs is going to keep hounding us."

"Hounding us for what?" Van Pelt wondered to which he explained, "He's pretty much convinced we let Jane do whatever he wants and that our department has become lax as a result."

Grace crossed her arms and replied, "And you're saying that isn't true?"

"Well I think it's a broad generalization to be making, don't you?" Wayne asked making her smile and then shrug and say, "I don't know, Jane does get away with a lot of wacky stuff in order to close a case. I mean look at what's happened now. We're sitting here wasting time with old paperwork trusting him to handle a murder investigation all on his own. I liked being out in the field."

"But we're not letting him go about and do whatever he wants, he isn't a loose cannon right?" Rigsby wondered to which Van Pelt said, "Sometimes I pause and wonder whether or not he'll snap one day. It's hard to say."

"The point is he's our friend, and this guy seems to think that Jane is nothing but trouble. So we just keep our heads low and wait until he gives up," Rigsby replied.

"Is that what Lisbon said we do?" Grace asked to which her partner replied, "No, but it seems like the smartest course to take." "So if he isn't here to grill us about Jane, why is he here?" she asked.

"Why don't you ask him yourself, maybe you can convince him that we're all on the same team?" Wayne suggested as he spotted the IA agent descending the stairs. "Maybe I will," the redhead said standing and adjusting her pants before walking toward the stairs.

"Agent Waves, were you ready to speak with me?" she asked to which the man said, "I don't see why not.

" Gesturing for them to go into a small conference room, the dark haired man closed the door and asked, "Is there something you needed to tell me?" "I was just wondering if those files I gave you earlier were proving helpful in your investigation?" Van Pelt asked to which he smiled and said, "No you weren't, so there's no need to lie. You're curious as to what I'm looking for, aren't you?"

She nodded slightly and said, "I thought maybe I could help, you know speed things up so we can get back to work?"

"Oddly enough you're the only one to cooperate with me all day," he said sitting down and sliding the file across the table toward her adding, "What do you make of that?" Glancing at the document she nodded and said, "This is the case we had a while ago concerning the Ellison farm, the triple homicide connected to Red John."

"It's also the oldest known murder connected to the serial killer, if that file is right it happened back in the eighties," Waves pointed out gesturing to one of the pictures that had the infamous bloody smile on the side of the barn.

"Yeah, I remember… what about it?" Grace asked closing the file to which the IA agent explained, "I'm sure you also know that the Ellison farm is owned by the Visualize organization, making it very likely that the cult has something to do with this serial killer. And that… is precisely why I'm here, Agent Van Pelt. Someone in the CBI has been leaking information to Visualize and I intend to find out who and why."

She paused for a second glancing at the file and then muttered, "What… you think it's Jane?"

"It makes a certain amount of sense doesn't it? After all, he's hell bent on capturing Red John so why wouldn't he sell his soul to these fanatics?" the man countered causing her to reply, "Now wait a minute, not all of them are bad people. Some of them are just messed up kids."

"Oh I'm sure there are a few kindred spirits in there, but let's face facts. Bret Stiles brainwashes them into thinking he's some type of god, am I right?" Waves asked to which she stated, "He's not a bad person either."

The IA agent paused and looked at her for a moment before stating, "Maybe I have gone about this investigation all wrong then. It would seem you're pretty quick to defend Stiles, despite the fact that he's got a criminal record longer than the state tax forms." "Yet none of those crimes were ever connected back to him," she replied to which Matthew said, "He's smart, Grace; he knows how to keep his hands from being dirty. Just like your friend Patrick Jane."

"You're looking in the wrong direction! Jane is a good man and Stiles is harmless, you're supposed to be finding a mole for the organization!" she said angrily to which he countered, "Stiles is Visualize, the body and soul of the cult. So you can bet that he knows something about this mess. But of course he won't be talking anytime soon."

Rising and taking the files, Waves added, "But I think maybe it's time I focused a bit more on you, Agent Van Pelt." "What do you mean by that?" she asked with an icy tone to which he stated, "Perhaps you could tell me exactly what your relationship with Craig O'Laughlin was?"

She froze and then muttered, "That was two years ago, and completely unfair. Nobody knew he had ties to Red John.

" "You expect me to believe that you slept with the man and yet you weren't aware he was leading a double life?" Waves growled. "Yes I did have a relationship with him, but I also shot him dead," Van Pelt said angrily.

"So I read," Matthew said as he prepared to leave and then added, "But I can't help but to wonder whether or not that was to cover up your own complicity in the case surrounding Red John."

As the internal affairs agent left her, Grace ran a hand thru her hair and rubbed her scalp trying to think. If I'm not careful this guy is going to pin something on me that I didn't do, she thought grimly. Glancing out of the room to where Rigsby was sitting, she thought about asking him for advice but then quickly brushed it aside. There might be one person who can help me, she thought. And maybe it will get my name in the clear before my career sinks, she decided leaving the office and heading toward the exit.


	9. Part 8

As the truck driver sat down in the conference room for the second time, Ray turned to the blonde haired consultant who had come along as an extra help, and wondered whether he had made a mistake about calling him here. Since he'd arrived the former psychic had wasted time smelling the crime scene and examining light fixtures. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Lisbon trusted him so much, he thought. "So why are you calling me back here?" Stacy asked to which Haffner replied, "We need to go over what happened the morning Lamb died. Step by step. To confirm you were the last one who saw him alive."

"This is a waste of time," Adams said to which Jane remarked, "Oh I completely agree, it's cutting into my sleep schedule. So could you hurry it up?" "Who do you people think you are? You don't have the right to come in here and accuse people! We're like family here, it's that simple!" Stacy said leaning forward and asking, "So what do you want me to say? I told you everything I did that morning. 5:50 A.M. We got a call from an apartment about six blocks from here, so my unit was dispatched to handle it. When we came back Chief McFrat called a union conference and then Michael found him dead in the garage."

"Interesting, straight and to the point yet you don't seem to really acknowledge that one of your own died," Jane stated and then commented, "Sounds like a rather dysfunctional family if you ask me."

"You misunderstand. I'm tired of these questions! We all are! Let Joel rest in peace and we can move on with our lives," Stacy insisted. "I can't help but to notice a quiver in your voice, almost as if you're pleading with us. Is there some reason you're worried we'll find something?" the consultant remarked.

"We've been thru a lot here okay?" Adams said to which Haffner asked, "What do you mean?" "This department almost faced shut down when the city had to cutbacks, but Chief McFrat got us together we had a fundraiser and we can support this volunteer service for another three years. But now you've got a murder investigation on our doorstep? That isn't going to look good," she explained to which Patrick said, "The truth is never pink bows and ribbons, I'm afraid. So you need to be as clear and as frank with us as possible if you want this all to go away. Why don't you start by explaining why you moved the truck?"

The middle aged woman sighed and said, "It's like I said a body here in the firehouse would not help us any. So... we decided to move it. There was a fire being dealt with anyway. Chief McFrat knew that if he could write off that Joel died in the blaze rather than here, that it wouldn't raise any eyebrows."

"So you moved his body after you found it? That's tampering with evidence!" Ray said in disbelief. "Well I think that covers everything we need to know, you're free to go," Jane said which caused the woman to look at them in confusion and Haffner said, "Jane, she just confessed to tampering with a crime scene."

"Oh, well in that case could you tell us where Chief McFrat is at now?" he replied to which she stammered, "In his office… I guess." "Thank you for your assistance, I'm sure Officer Haffner has some rules about what you need to do next," the consultant said as he left the room and walked toward the back of the firehouse.

"Could you excuse me a moment?" Ray asked, following the consultant and muttering, "Where do you think you're going?" "The source of our problem, McFrat himself. Seems to me that all clues are pointing to him," Patrick answered as he stepped up to where the office of the fire chief was at and Ray remarked, "You do realize we only have her word about this? When we found Lamb's body it was practically burned to a crisp, so the evidence says that he died in that fire."

"It's a good thing you called me then isn't it?" the blonde man countered opening the door to where the older man was sitting at his computer. "Can I help you boys?"

McFrat asked to which Jane said, "Maybe, maybe not; but you could start by telling us why you let Officer Adams take our victims body to that fire." "Excuse me?" the fire chief asked angrily to which Ray remarked, "Stacy just confessed to moving the body from the garage of this firehouse, if she is telling the truth she says you told her to do that."

"She's lying obviously, I wouldn't tell her to do anything like that," McFrat said nervously to which the former psychic said, "That twitch in your left hand tells me otherwise. Are you a smoker, Chief?"

"I'm trying to quit," he said raising his sleeve to reveal a nicotine patch he had on his shoulder. "Hmm right, so this is another tell then, what are you hiding?" Jane said as though he were talking to himself as he paced the room and Haffner crossed his arms, sighing and stating, "Sir, just to make things a bit clearer, when was your unit called to the scene of the fire?"

"Around 5am this morning, Stacy drove truck number 13 and we got the thing put out by 7," McFrat answered to which the consultant said, "Meaning the murder must've occurred sometime before that, whenever the shift change was happening. Was there something here in the firehouse that Stacy was afraid Lamb would find out about? Some dark dungeon you're hiding?"

"You sound like you're a nut job," the fire chief observed. "I think he's hiding something," Jane said turning to the other agent who stated, "And what makes you think that?"

"Twitch in his hands, plus since we came in the room he hasn't been able to keep his eyes on us." Pausing, the former consultant turned about and gave the chief a cold stare remarking, "Is it here?"

He placed his hand on one of the drawers next to the older man's desk causing McFrat to reply, "This is ridiculous!"

"Or maybe here…?" Patrick remarked turning to an old tv set up in the corner of a file cabinet and then smiling for some reason and reaching behind it to take out an old bubble gum dispenser. Opening it, he nodded slowly and then passed it to Haffner who gave it a glance and then asked, "Chief McFrat could you explain why there is some marijuana in your office?"

"I have no idea how it got there," the fire chief began to which Jane scoffed and said, "Wow you're a horrible liar. But he's not our guy." "What? You're saying he's doing drugs but he didn't kill Lamb?" Ray asked in surprise.

"Nope, whoever the murderer is obviously wanted the body to be taken to the place where the fire was happening. So I think we need to visit the other crime scene… um, what's the address of the building?" Jane asked turning back to McFrat who looked dumbfounded by their conversation and then declared, "It's 1605 Chestnut Drive, about six blocks from here."

"Thanks so much," the blonde said with a smile and then glanced at Haffner and declared, "You know what to do with him right?" Ray rolled his eyes and muttered, "You're under arrest… just don't leave town."


	10. Part 9

Stepping away from the bus terminal as the traffic cleared the red headed CBI agent entered the corner cafe, the bell above the door jingling as she did. Grace felt her heart skip a beat as she caught sight of the person she'd come to meet, briefly glancing back outside to see if she had been followed and then walking over to the booth near the back of the restaurant.

Slowly she sank into her seat as the older gentleman smiled at her and then commented, "You can relax, Grace. I'm not a cobra, I don't bite."

"Thank you for meeting me Mister Stiles," she began to which the white haired man raised a palm and scoffed saying, "This isn't a business luncheon my dear. Be yourself, I can tell something is troubling you." Grace sighed with a nod and muttered, "It's about Jane, he's in trouble again and I thought maybe you could help."

Stiles smiled slightly and nodded proclaiming; "I'd be more than happy to when it comes to my dear friend Patrick. What sort of trouble is he in now?"

"There's a guy from internal affairs snooping around Jane's investigation of Lorelei Martins, the woman who had ties to Red John; he seems convinced that Jane had help getting Lorelei out of prison," Van Pelt said.

"The implication here is this agent obviously thinks my religion was involve in some way?" Bret asked to which she nodded and explained, "This really started because of everything that happened surrounding the Salvador case. Visualize has been on our radar for a while now." "Well I must admit that troubles me greatly, especially since we've been so forthcoming since the Ellis ranch incident," Stiles muttered rubbing his chin and stating, "Patrick has always had a fixation on trouble. And his belief that this... Salvador woman was connected to Visualize is what landed him nearly behind bars a few weeks ago if I recall."

"So you're saying there is nothing to tie you to her?" Grace asked. "Of course not, and had I known Patrick would go to these lengths I would never have agreed to assist him with talking to Miss Martin," Bret said. Van Pelt paused for a moment and asked, "So wait... Jane did get in contact with Lorelei?"

"Well clearly, she broke out of jail didn't she?" Stiles countered. "But what role did you play?" she wondered to which the older man explained, "As always the gentle guide, I told Patrick there might be a way for him to talk with Lorelei if he pulled the proper strings with the FBI. Clearly he did that." "Why didn't you inform us about this after she escaped custody?" Grace asked in confusion.

"Technically I had no part in it; and I didn't want Patrick to be put in some bad light on my account. I assumed the matter ended because he chose to stop searching for her after she escaped," Bret stated.

"This is just what I need," Van Pelt realized rising from her chair. "Hold on a moment; Grace. I'm a bit confused. Are you doing this for Patrick or for yourself?" "Why can't it be both?" she asked him.

"The world doesn't work that way I'm afraid. And I would suggest you be very careful crossing Patrick Jane. I wouldn't want to make an enemy out of him," Bret answered to which she said, "The investigation will drop if Patrick comes clean about assisting Lorelei. I'm sure he will only get suspended for something like that."

The older man shrugged and then said, "I just hope you're doing the right thing." "I am, and thank you again," Grace said to which Stiles answered, "It's always a pleasure." Nodding and smiling at him, the junior agent left the cafe and raced back to the terminal. Maybe now, Waves can focus on more important matters, she thought. I just hope Jane isn't too upset with me for what I'm going to do.


	11. Part 10

The five story apartment appeared to almost slant to one side, ready to cave in at the slightest breeze. Patrick Jane stepped over a portion of burnt rubble, oblivious to the danger the building presented and began to scan the room searching for some clue that connected this blaze to the murder they had uncovered at the Bay Firehouse.

Sadly though that seemed downright impossible in this blaze, and that only made the consultant frown as he glanced over toward Haffner who was examining a burnt couch. "Are you a team of one? Where's your back up?" Jane asked him to which Ray remarked with a snap, "You're supposed to be the back up smart ass."

"Whoa no need for name calling," Patrick said as he stepped over a downed portion of the second floor ceiling and remarked, "I was just curious as to whether or not you had an arson expert on your payroll."

"No, not since that debacle you led me into a few years ago. Bertram first tried to reassign me to a different position and I had to work my way into the job I'm at now," Ray said evenly and added, "We had the chance of being partners, Jane. But something tells me that the two of us are more alike than you realize. We both have to work alone."

The former psychic gave a half smile and then remarked, "I wish you were right about that, well I mean for the most part you are...but every once in a while I do need back up. And right now I wouldn't mind an extra set of eyes here to examine this fire. If I can determine the point of origin I'll find our killer." "That seems impossible," Ray pointed out to which Jane said, "There is no such thing."

"Fine, maybe CBI can send us someone," Haffner suggested even as the former psychic took out his phone and began to dial. "What are you doing?" Ray asked. "Getting back up. I thought we'd just resolved that issue?" Jane retorted to which the agent said, "Need I remind you all of Lisbon's team is under review?"

"This is Cho," the Korean agent said over the phone making Jane raise a finger to quiet Haffner and then asking, "Cho, how is your day been going?" "What do you need Jane?" the other agent inquired. "Straight and to the point, that's the Cho I know. How is that internal review going on?" Jane replied causing a brief pause from his co-worker and then Kimball answered, "Waves is bending over backwards to dig up dirt on you, and I have a feeling he'll do the same to me in about ten minutes. He called down to the archives to review some case from last year."

"So then everything is dandy?" Patrick asked making Haffner frown and Cho remark, "Look Jane you're not even supposed to be consulting with us during this case, in fact you're the main reason we're all under fire anyway."

"Speaking of fire, who would you say is the best arson specialist we have?" Jane asked to which the Korean replied, "Does this have something to do with the Lamb case?"

"Oooo, I'm sorry that falls under the list of things I'm not supposed to talk about," he replied to which Ray remarked icily, "Give me the phone." "One sec Cho," Jane said before his co-worker could reply and then asking the other agent, "This will only take a few minutes. If we find out what caused the fire it will nab our culprit, I promise."

"You're testing my patience," Haffner said crossing his arms as Jane got back on the phone and asked Kimball, "Can you send someone over to where I'm calling from?"

"If Waves or Bertram find out this," Cho began and the consultant stated, "As long as Waves wastes his time on me there isn't anything to worry about. So could you hurry? The faster we solve this the quicker I can help you guys."

"I'm not so sure we want your particular style of help," Cho countered and then sighed before remarking, "But I'll get someone over there." Hanging up the phone, Jane smiled and told Ray, "Which of our valiant volunteers do you suppose is the addict?

" "What are you talking about?" Haffner asked. "Oh, I'm sorry I thought I'd already pointed that out to you?" Jane asked clearing his breath and pointing toward a white ring on the burnt rug.

"What would you say that is?" he asked to which Ray knelt down to examine it and remarked, "Meth?" "Bingo, so now we know the why. The bigger question remains though, is how," Jane said as he sat on the burnt couch. "And that will lead us to the murderer?" Ray asked even as the former psychic laid on the burnt piece of furniture and nodded to which Haffner remarked, "You're a piece of work, Jane."


	12. Part 11

Stepping into the archives, the Korean agent stopped short of the last step as he spotted Waves rummaging thru the files and then the dark haired man smiled and said, "Agent Cho, I hope I'm not inconveniencing you by asking for you to come here?"

"Seeing as this entire department is shut down until you report back to Bertram, there isn't much else I can do," Kimball commented crossing his arms as he glanced at the file and commented, "Who was Samantha Mayweather?"

Closing it back, Waves remarked, "CBI does a fine job of cleaning up after themselves. But some stains never go away. For example, I notice that for the most part, the investigation IA director LaRoche did on Todd Johnson was swept under the rug after Craig O'Laughlin was killed." "He was the mole who killed Johnson, working alongside Red John," Cho replied to which Waves countered, "I did some digging and I noticed that for the most part, no one in the CBI knew about Todd Johnson being connected to the serial killer until after what happened with Hightower."

"Patrick Jane did keep that information to himself, but I know where you're going with that. He has his reasons for wanting the serial killer," Cho replied.

"And he thinks he makes the best calls around here, and for the most part he calls the shots. Is that what happened with Zoey Salvador? How certain are you, Agent Cho; that anyone in CBI is working with Visualize?" Matthew asked to which the Korean answered, "it wouldn't be my place to say."

"Then let me put this another way," Matthew said as he turned to the agent and stated, "I will not stop until I Patrick Jane is permanently disgraced and discharged from the CBI."

"What beef do you have with Jane?" Cho asked to which the IA agent replied, "I really didn't think I would get anywhere with you, Agent Cho. You've only confirmed what I already knew, that every member of this team has allowed Patrick to corrupt them."

"What makes you think that?" Kimball countered to which the dark haired man answered, "Because no matter how far fetched the story you believe him above all others."

Just then Cho's phone went off and he answered it with a quick remark an then commented to Waves, "Lisbon wants us both upstairs." Wordlessly the two men walked back up to the bullpen where Lisbon was waiting and she commented, "Have you seen Grace?" "Not recently, why?" Cho asked to which Teresa shrugged and said, "I don't know, Waves did you talk to her?"

"Of course I did," Matthew answered to which Lisbon said, "I can't help but to notice that every member of my team is being cross-examined in connection to Jane. Is that what he did to you?"

"Yes ma'am," Kimball said with a curt nod and Waves smiled and said, "I see where you're going with this. You think I'd do anything to prove Jane has done something illegal, am I right?"

"You've done a good job of making me think that way," Lisbon said. "Maybe because I'm right. But don't worry yourself Agent Lisbon, I'm not going to blackmail one of your agents just so I can get some dirt on Jane," Waves said clasping his file firmly and walking toward the elevator. "So what's up?" Cho asked.

"I did a little digging of my own, seeing as Matthew seems to believe we're all a little dirty I wondered if he was too," Lisbon said passing him the file. The Korean agent glanced over it and remarked, "Attended the Academy alongside Luthor Wainwright?"

"Strange right? But get this, up until a few years ago; Matthew Waves was working for Homeland Security," she said pausing and passing a picture of a football team and Cho remarked, "Agent Kirkland looked that young once?"

"And you'll see that Wainwright and Waves are there too. But who would you say is the girl in the picture?" Lisbon asked. "I think I might have an idea, can I run a few leads on this?" Cho asked. "Sure go ahead, but keep me informed. If this guy is dirty, I want to bring him down before he tears our organization apart," she said as she glanced across the room to where Grace was coming in an remarked, "Where have you been?" "Sorry boss, I had some errands to do," Van Pelt replied.

Lisbon looked at skeptically and then muttered, "See if you can help Cho out with a few leads." As their superior left, the red head glanced at the picture that had Waves with their old boss and Grace asked, "What is this all about?" "Waves is asking too many questions, stifling our operation. Time to shut him down," Cho said simply.

She nodded slightly and then muttered, "Cho... What if he's right about Jane? How often do you think he's lied to us?" "Doesn't matter. Friends protect each other," he said walking toward his desk. "Yeah," she said deep in thought and asking, "Where is Agent Waves now?" "About to go report to Bertram most likely. Why?" Cho asked to which Grace shrugged and said, "Maybe I can keep him busy until you dig something up." "All right, that sounds like a good idea," Kimball agreed watching the red head leave and then getting on the intranet.


	13. Part 12

Stepping into the third floor hallway that was mostly torn down, Haffner continued his fruitless examination of the peeling wallpaper and burnt pictures; a fact that was made clear by the figure of Patrick Jane snoring below him on a burnt couch.

"I know you're pretending," he said irritably shaking his head and wishing that Bertram hadn't assigned him this position in the first place. "Don't you know it isn't wise to wake a man from a deep sleep," Jane countered turning on his side when Haffner heard the sound of feet entering the first floor and muttered, "It's about time."

Returning to the stairs, he walked down to where the arson specialist was entering the room and heard Jane said, "Oh great, it had to be you didn't it?"

"Is there a problem?" he said looking at the shorter man with the messy hair. "Jane and I… have problems working together," he said dismissively to which Ray remarked, "Get in line."

"Look, Partridge; I know you want to be helpful and all; but isn't there someone else that Cho could've sent? A dog maybe?" Patrick said as the younger man got out his equipment.

"Agent Cho said you had a pretty intense fire on your hands, he wanted the best; and that would be me, in case you were wondering," Bret Partridge countered as he began to examine the fire and Ray asked the consultant in a whisper, "What exactly is going on between you two?" "Imagine how a dead cat smells, and then think about wearing it as a hat," Jane countered dryly placing his hands in his pockets as Partridge neared the spot where the meth had fallen.

"This was from upstairs, we're dealing with a meth house?" he guessed to which the consultant shrugged and replied, "You're the expert, you tell me." "There was more of it, most destroyed by the fire. This couch, that loveseat over there; I'd say that they were burnt to cover up the meth being held inside the cushions," Partridge stated to which Jane commented, "We already know why the fire was started, we just need to know how." "I'm getting to that, you need to be patient," Bret said glancing at Haffner and adding, "Looks like the fire worked its way down from the third floor." They followed the mortician up the flight of stairs to the third floor, walking past chunks of rubble to an especially devastated room and Partridge remarked, "It started right here. Near that window."

Walking around the burnt bed, Ray looked at the grooves on the window and remarked, "This might have been a fire man's ladder." "Of course it was, we know it had to be someone from the fire house," Jane said shaking his head in disgust as if feeling they were both playing catch up with him.

"I don't think the entire building was supposed to go down in flames, just this room," Partridge said as he examined the heater in the corner and added, "But this wire was a bit frail and it made a spark, the rest as they say is history."

"Whoever did this wanted to keep their addiction hidden," Jane said glancing at Haffner and remarking, "Now who do we know that already suffers from a drug problem?" "If Chief McFrat did this, he had help. He wasn't at the firehouse this morning when Lamb was," Ray pointed out. "Or someone else is covering for him… or trying to convict him," Jane realized with a smile and said, "I know how we can find out who the murderer was." "That's the first bit of good news I've heard today," Haffner said dryly to which Patrick gestured toward the window and was about to speak when Ray's phone went off.

"Are you going to get that?" the consultant asked to which the Special Divisions agent remarked, "Isn't what you're about to say also important." "Yeah, but it can wait," he said dismissively making Haffner grumble as he answered the phone.

"Yeah?" he muttered, listening to his boss give the orders and then nodding and hanging up and saying, "Whatever you have to say is going to have to wait, Jane. Bertram wants us in his office now." "I'll need to take these samples to CBI just to be sure I was right about this, so I can follow you guys there," Partridge suggested to which Jane gave him a fake smile and replied, "The more the merrier."


	14. Part 13

Outside the hallway of Gale Bertram's office, the dark haired middle-aged man stood and waited patiently watching as Patrick Jane and the two CBI agents behind him approached.

"What is it this time, Waves?" Jane asked irritably to which the IA agent countered, "Can I speak to alone?" Glancing at the two other agents, the blonde man shrugged and followed him to a tiny corner office nearby and remarked, "If you're going to accuse me of working with Visualize one more time, I might have to get a restraining order on you."

"There will be no need, I have the proof I wanted. I know that you requested Bret Stiles' aid to get Lorelei Martin out of prison," Matthew said evenly, to which the former psychic remarked, "You're not showing any of the obvious signs of bluffing, so something tells me that you truly believe you've cornered me."

"As a matter of fact I have, the agent who agreed to testify against you is waiting in Bertram's office along with Agent Lisbon. It's all over Jane," Waves countered to which he raised an eyebrow and then glanced at the door and remarked, "So… what's this big show for? Why not just drag me in there and make the deed done?"

"I wanted to make you a counteroffer, one that given the circumstances you should consider very carefully," Waves said with a stern voice. "And what might that be?" Jane countered.

"I know why you let Zoey Salvador go, its all part of your personal vendetta against Red John and all that. Which is sweet and quaint and stupid. But I'm willing to let these charges slide, if you agree to track Zoey down," Waves countered. "Ah… so the curtain is pulled back a little? What exactly did Salvador do to you?" the consultant asked to which he growled, "I'm not going to say anymore unless you agree that she will be tracked down, that you'll go to whatever lengths necessary to bring her to justice."

Patrick hesitated and he sighed and said, "I thought that would be your answer, Jane. Fine it's your funeral."

Without waiting for a response this time, Waves stormed into Bertram's office where already Haffner had decided to join the other senior agents, along with his source, Grace Van Pelt.

Jane seemed a little surprised to see the red head there and she diverted her eyes even as Lisbon proclaimed, "All right now that we're all here can you please tell us what is going on?"

"Indeed I will," Waves said as the CBI Director took a seat and the man explained, "I was assigned to this unit to track down the spy connected to the Visualize organization and I am here to tell you that he is in this very room, Director." "Wait a minute," Gale said putting a hand up and then muttering, "Are you trying to tell me that Jane is the damned spy?"

"That's correct, and I have the evidence to prove it," Waves began to which the other man stated angrily, "I don't care what you have, you twit! Jane is our linchpin! Why did you even consider him an option?" "Your consultant aided a known felon escape prison, sir," Waves countered to which Bertram stared at all of them and then toward Lisbon and asked, "Did you know that this?" "No sir, I don't even know what is going on right now," Teresa admitted to which he growled, "Yeah well that isn't new."

"I think the safest thing for CBI would be for Patrick Jane to be forced to step down entirely," Matthew suggested to which Gale shook his head and remarked, "Well, that isn't going to happen. But I will tell you exactly how I'm going to deal with this." Standing up, he stared at Haffner and remarked, "You'll be in charge of this unit until further notice. Lisbon, you're suspended." "But sir!" Lisbon began even as the bald man sat down and Waves stated, "Sir I must object."

"No, that isn't right," Grace began and the CBI Director shouted, "All right! That's enough! Anymore objections and you'll all be on suspension!" Teresa lowered her head and then glared at Jane before storming out of the room and the IA agent remarked, "Are you telling me that nothing will be done about Jane's behavior?"

"It's clear to me that this damned Visualize thing was a smokescreen. I get it, Jane let Salvador go and he will pay dearly for that. But right now we need to get this office up and running, so you're dismissed, Waves," Bertram remarked. The dark haired man stared at the consultant and warned, "I'm not finished with you yet."

As he left, Jane looked about at Haffner and then Grace and commented, "Well… that was a little unexpected."


	15. Part 14

As they walked out of the Director's office, the red head called out to their consultant causing Patrick to stop and glance back at her. "Jane… this is all my fault," she stammered, trying to figure out the right words to say. "What exactly did the big bad wolf do to you that made you feel like you had to throw me under the bus?" Jane asked as they walked back down to the bullpen.

Out of the corner of her eye, Grace caught sight of Cho and Rigsby who had apparently just heard the news about Lisbon and she muttered, "I… was scared he would try to throw me in cahoots with O'Laughlin. He tried to insinuate I knew he was tied to Red John."

"I suppose that's one theory," Patrick said as he moved toward Lisbon's office and added, "Give me one second Grace." The senior CBI agent was putting a few things up in a box and then stopped to glare at him and he closed the door behind him remarking, "Gale will be steamed for a few days and then you'll be back."

"I just want to know one thing, is what Waves said true? Did you help Lorelei get out of prison?" she asked. He held his breath, wondering whether it was the right time to tell her or not and instead remarked, "I can't believe you would fall for that garbage."

Sighing she nodded and sat down in her chair and stated, "It's just ever since that guy walked in here he's been spouting this and that about you being the son of the devil and what not. I guess a little of it's starting to stick." "I do a lot of things around here, Lisbon. But I never lie. Not when it comes to Red John," he said sternly.

"But thanks to whatever he thought he found I get the can," she muttered to which he remarked, "I don't suppose you have anything on him to discredit his claims?" "Cho found out that he went to college alongside Wainwright and Bob Kirkland… and there was something about a girlfriend of Wainwright's dying in a car crash. It didn't all tie together though," she responded and he frowned and remarked, "An old girlfriend?"

"Yeah, he went to college in Washington about four years back and then attended the Academy in Washington State. You know I didn't know that Wainwright had almost joined Homeland Security, did you?" Lisbon asked passing him the photo she'd been keeping. "Can't say I really knew that much about him at all, except he had a short fuse," Jane said as he examined the photo and then smiled and said, "I think this is all I'll be needing." "Wait a second, are you telling me you've got something to pin on Waves?"

"Yep, but first I need to go wrap up this case before a murderer walks free," Jane said walking out to where Grace was talking to Rigsby and he commented, "I don't suppose one of you could lend me a ride to the Bay Firehouse?" "You don't know the way?" Wayne countered to which he replied, "You guys are the ones with the hand cuffs."

"Go on, I'll handle this for a while," Grace encouraged her partner. Rigsby grabbed his keys as Jane headed toward the elevator and then snapped his fingers toward Partridge and said, "Hey, do you have that evidence?" "Right here," he said irritably passing it to the consultant who nodded and said, "You know you might be useful after all."


	16. Part 15

All of the firemen and women gathered into the room as Rigsby closed the door behind them and then Chief McFrat commented, "It's almost six in the evening, could you please tell us why you called us all here?"

"I know it's almost the end of your shift, so I'll be brief," Jane began staring at all of them and then explaining, "By now all of you know that Joel Lamb your co-worker was murdered. The reason I say that is because Stacy took the body from this garage to the house where the chief was selling meth and marijuana on the side."

"I beg your pardon?" Charles Logan asked to which Jane explained, "It had me a bit puzzled at first, the way all of you were acting whenever we first arrived. And then I realized, there was no way this murder could have taken place without most of you being aware of it. For various reasons, each of you played a part in keeping a secret."

"So, what, you're here to arrest all of us?" Samantha asked to which Rigsby muttered, "Um, Jane we can't exactly do that." "Hold on, I'm not done yet," he explained looking about and stating, "That fire, was staged to cover up the meth operation that all of you have been engaging in on the side. All of you except your fellow firefighter Lamb. Or maybe he was and he grew a conscience? After Gabriel left the force maybe he worried that your old buddy would talk? And so Lamb decided he wanted out."

Staring at Chief McFrat he added, "He came to you and told you that he was going to rat out the firehouse's side business and that worried you. But you were too scared to do anything. So you called in a few favors, made a few threats and everything was taken care of. With the whack of a wrench, Lamb was dead. And you decided it was time to move your operation somewhere else, just in case he had already tipped off the cops. So you got your crew to head over to the apartment and burn it to the ground."

"This is just speculation!" Valin muttered to which Rigsby said, "We did find evidence there was meth in that complex." "It's no surprise that a meth house burned down in San Francisco," Stacy countered.

"And it would've been the perfect getaway, except for the fact that you moved the fire truck when you got back. You forgot which way it had been parked, and that made your story about Lamb having an accident just about impossible," Jane stated to which McFrat muttered, "Look, unless you have some type of hard facts, then you can't just arrest all of us."

"Then it's a good thing Gabriel has decided to testify, isn't it? I thought I'd just give you all one chance to identify the killer, that way at least the firehouse could still be intact," Jane said.

Rigsby was about to object to something, to point out the flawed reasoning that the consultant had just used when one of the firefighters; a young Mexican man stepped forward and muttered, "It was me."

"And why did you do it Cortez?" Jane asked.

"Sanchez not another word!" Valin warned and Rigsby shouted, "Let him talk."

"You're right, about everything. The chief told me what Lamb was going to do. But he never told me to kill him. I did that all on my own. This job is my life, I support my wife and my children with this. And he was just going to take that away from me!" Cortez said angrily.

"Hmm," Jane said nodding silently toward the others in the room and remarking, "So you just gave him the motive and stood by as an innocent man died in your garage. I hate to say it chief, but your family needs some therapy."

"So… please don't punish these people. I'm the one who is at fault, not them," Sanchez insisted.

"I'd love to do that, really I would. But your chief there is going to held on charges of drug dealing, Adams will be charged with obstruction of justice and I'm sure once we get your other friends to start talking we'll find out who else helped distribute the drugs and dispose of the body… so thanks for speeding up the process," Jane said stepping past Rigsby and adding to the CBI agent, "You might need a few more handcuffs."


	17. Part 16

As they parked, Patrick Jane couldn't help but to smile to himself; this was turning out much better than I expected he thought as Rigsby took Sanchez in first to be questioned and to reveal who else at the Bay Firehouse might've had a hand in the slaying of Joel Lamb.

The only loose end now, is Waves; he thought pausing at the door as he considered how much the team of agents had gone to protect him. Grace did fall under pressure, but she only did that to protect her own career, he thought sadly as they rode the elevator up to the bullpen.

Was that my fault? It didn't matter though, considering the fact that soon the evidence he would bring to the attention of Bertram would be enough to send the IA agent packing.

Letting Rigsby out on that floor, he rode the elevator up to the top and walked down the long hallway to the Director's office. Tapping lightly on the door, he waited for a response and then when he didn't receive one he tapped a bit harder.

When none came, Patrick raised a curious eyebrow and opened the door pausing in surprise at what he saw. Papers were strewn about, chairs toppled over as though a struggle had taken place. But there was no sign of Gale Bertram.

Frozen in his steps, Jane slowly walked backward and then began to run to the elevator, pressing for the floor where Rigsby had just stepped out and impatiently waited for it to take him there.

Running into the bullpen, the team seemed shocked to see him going at such a pace and he muttered, "Where's Lisbon?"

"What's going on?" Cho asked.

"Bertram is missing, I think something has happened…" Jane began even as he spotted Haffner at the top level of the bullpen and their boss stated, "Jane, get up here now… I think you need to see this."

Something in the tone of the other man's voice felt off, he thought as Cho and Rigsby got out of their seats and followed the consultant up the stairs to the hallway which led to his attic.

His secret attic, which was now pried open.

Haffner stood on the outside of the room and muttered, "Take a look. Tell me if it's him or not."

Pushing the metal door aside, Jane stepped into his private sanctuary and felt his heart go cold inside him.

Plastered against the wall, with thumb tacks rammed into his hands; like some type of sacrificial lamb the place where he normally kept all of his important papers had been turned into an altar. His legs spread eagle and likewise stabbed with some sharp instruments to keep the body from falling to the floor, Jane slowly took a step back and watched as blood dripped from the wide slash across the man's belly.

It was connected to the long drawn out curves of blood that smeared his wall, and the two soft impressions that were dashed on either side of the man's face.

On the exterior, going from the left to the right in one long circular motion the face had been finished and from this point of view Jane could tell that the scar on Wave's stomach had been deliberate.

It finished the eerie smile, the blood stains running down onto his floor as he felt his heart beat out of his chest.

Cho and Rigbsy entered behind him, their eyes fixed on the scene in front of them and Jane stood there for the longest, his skin tingling as he realized what had occurred. He took a few steps back, leaning against the desk he'd grown accustomed to sitting at for hours to think.

Another eternity seemed to pass, and then the phone on his desk began to vibrate. Every person in the room turned to it as Jane slowly picked it up and then flipped it open and raised it to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, still staring at the dark bloody smile in his attic.

"Hello Patrick," the chilling childlike voice said in an almost calm tone, "Did you miss me?"

**To Be Continued...**

in

"Cold Blooded"


End file.
